Purpose

Preparation

Make a nest with eggs in it to illustrate the story in the lesson. Fill a bowl with straw, grass, or yarn. Put three hard-boiled eggs in the nest. If eggs are not available, cut three egg-shaped pieces of paper to put in the nest.

3.

Number five pieces of paper from one to five and put them in a small sack or other container.

4.

Prepare to sing or say the words to “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, p. 78). The words to this song are included at the back of the manual.

Make the necessary preparations for any enrichment activities you want to use.

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Follow up with the children if you encouraged them to do something during the week. You may want to ask the children if they were able to memorize the words from the CTR chart (“I will choose the right”).

Attention activity

Have the children play “Follow the Leader.” The children stand in a line. The child first in line runs, hops, skips, or does some other action to the other side of the room. The other children follow, doing what the first child did. Then the first child goes to the end of the line, and the second child becomes the leader. Repeat until each child has had a turn to be the leader.

Scripture discussion

Read aloud the first part of 2 Nephi 31:10, through Follow thou me. Explain that Jesus Christ said these words. Jesus wants us to follow him.

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How can we follow Jesus?

Read aloud the rest of 2 Nephi 31:10. Explain that we follow Jesus Christ when we obey the commandments and do the things he would do.

CTR chart

Display the CTR chart. Tell the children that as they learn more about Jesus they will be able to make better choices, because Jesus’ teachings tell us what is right.

Explain that when we have a difficult choice to make, we can ask ourselves a question that might help us know what is right. The question is, “What would Jesus want me to do?”

Story and discussion

Tell the following story in your own words, using the nest you made as an illustration:

A young boy named Warren lived near a bird refuge. A refuge is a place where birds are protected. Warren’s father’s job was to help protect the birds. Warren had found a nest in the tall grass near his home, and he loved to look at the eggs in the nest when the mother bird was away. One day when Warren was looking at the eggs, he heard a loud noise. He looked up and saw that two boys from his school had shot a bird with a slingshot.

The two boys saw Warren and came up to look at the nest. One of the boys wanted to smash the eggs. Warren convinced the boys not to smash the eggs, and he told them that it was against the law to kill birds in the refuge. The boys told Warren that he had better not tell anyone that they had shot a bird. They did not want to be punished for breaking the law. As Warren went home, he walked very slowly, thinking about what he should do. If he told his father about the boys, they might make fun of him or hurt him.

Point to the picture of Jesus on the CTR chart.

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What question should Warren ask himself to help him choose the right? (“What would Jesus want me to do?”)

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What would you do?

Warren decided to tell his father about the boys. His father said he would talk to the boys and their parents. When Warren told his father that he was worried about seeing the boys at school, Warren’s father suggested Warren find a way to make the boys his friends.

Warren didn’t want to be friends with boys who would shoot birds and smash their eggs. He was upset that his father had made that suggestion. All that night Warren thought about what his father had said. Warren had another decision to make.

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What decision did Warren have to make?

Point to the picture of Jesus on the CTR chart again.

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What question should Warren ask himself? (“What would Jesus want me to do?”)

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What should Warren do?

When Warren saw the boys again, they were angry with him for telling his father about them. They threatened to beat him up. Warren was afraid, but he decided to do what Jesus would want him to do. He told the boys that he and his father were going to take a hike on Saturday, and he asked if they would like to come along. The boys were surprised and didn’t say anything for a while. They had not expected Warren to be friendly to them. Finally they agreed to go. As Warren said good-bye to the boys, he had a peaceful feeling. He knew that making the boys his friends was the right thing to do. (Adapted from Claudia Remington, “The Nest,” Friend, May 1980, pp. 2–5.)

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Why did Warren have a peaceful feeling?

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When have you had a peaceful feeling because you chose the right and did what Jesus wanted you to do?

Invite the children to talk about any experiences they have had with choosing the right.

We Can Do What Jesus Christ Wants Us to Do

Discussion activity

Have the children repeat the question “What would Jesus want me do?” Tell them that they are going to practice answering this question. Show the sack or container with the numbered pieces of paper in it. Let the children take turns choosing a piece of paper. Read the situation that corresponds with the number each child has chosen, and have the child answer the questions. (If you have a large class, you may want to add more situations.)

1.

You are building with your blocks. Your baby sister knocks over what you have made.

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What question should you ask yourself?

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What would Jesus want you to do?

2.

Your friend has come over to your house to play. Your brother wants to play with you and your friend, but you would rather play with your friend alone.

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What question should you ask yourself?

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What would Jesus want you to do? (Point out that inviting your brother to play is not the only answer; help the children come up with other kind solutions.)

3.

You want to play ball with the children next door. They call you names and tell you to go home. You feel like calling them names too.

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What question should you ask yourself?

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What would Jesus want you to do?

4.

Your mother asks you to make your bed before you go out to play. Your friends are waiting for you at the front door.

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What question should you ask yourself?

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What would Jesus want you to do?

5.

Your father needs help cleaning up the yard around your house. You would rather go inside and finish the book you have been reading.

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What question should you ask yourself?

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What would Jesus want you to do?

Explain that the teachings of Jesus do not tell us exactly what to do in every situation. Jesus wants us to learn to make wise choices. He wants us to learn how to think and to show love and kindness.

Summary

Song

With the children, sing or say the words to “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus.”

Testimony

Remind the children that we can be like Jesus Christ by choosing the right. Testify that Jesus loves them and wants them to choose the right so they will have happy, peaceful feelings.

Encourage the children to ask themselves, “What would Jesus want me to do?” when they have to make a decision this week.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer. Ask the child to pray that the class members will remember to ask themselves what Jesus wants them to do.

Enrichment Activities

Choose from the following activities those that will work best for the children in your class. You can use them in the lesson itself or as a review or summary. For additional guidance, see “Class Time” in “Helps for the Teacher.”

1.

Give the children paper and crayons and let them draw pictures of things Jesus would want them to do, such as coming to church, helping their parents, comforting a lonely child, or playing with their brothers and sisters. Write on each child’s paper What would Jesus want me to do?

2.

Sing or say the words to “Dare to Do Right” (Children’s Songbook, p. 158) or “Nephi’s Courage” (Children’s Songbook, p. 120). The words to “Dare to Do Right” are included at the back of the manual. After you sing, remind the children of the story about Warren. Warren had to make some hard choices.

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Why is it sometimes hard to choose the right?

Tell the children that even though it is sometimes hard, if we always try to choose the right we will have peaceful, happy feelings.

Make a copy of the handout at the end of the lesson for each child. Cut out the small wordstrips on the bottom of the handout (leave off the numbers). Give each child a copy of the song and a set of wordstrips. Read the wordstrips and the song on the handout and help the children decide where the wordstrips fit into the song. Give the children a small amount of glue or tape to attach the wordstrips to their copies of the song. Print or have the children print their names on their handouts.